Amazon Gives the Greenlight to The Cosmopolitans and Hand of God

Amazon Studios today announced it has greenlit two new pilotsthe half hour dramatic comedy “The Cosmopolitans,” from Whit Stillman, and one hour drama “Hand of God” from Executive Producers Marc Forster, Ben Watkins, Ron Perlman, Brian Wilkins and Jeff Kingfor its third pilot season debuting later this year on Amazon Instant Video. Customers will once again be invited to watch and provide feedback on the shows they want to see turned into full series, which will then become available on Prime Instant Video. Additional pilots joining “The Cosmopolitans” and “Hand of God” in the third pilot season will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We’re very pleased to be working with Whit, Ron, Ben, and Marc on developing these pilots,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “‘The Cosmopolitans’ and ‘Hand of God’ both contain rich stories and deep characters that we think customers will really enjoy. I’m looking forward to seeing our customers reactions when they debut.”

Written, directed and produced by Academy Award nominee Whit Stillman, “The Cosmopolitans” follows a group of young American expatriates in Paris searching for love and friendship in a foreign city. The dramatic comedy pilot stars Adam Brody as Jimmy, Chloë Sevigny as Vicky, Carrie MacLemore as Aubrey, Dree Hemingway as Camille, Freddy Åsblom as Fritz, Shaun Evans as Hal, and Adriano Giannini as Sando. “The Cosmopolitans” begins shooting this week in Paris.

Marking the television debut of renowned filmmaker Marc Forster and written by Ben Watkins, Hand of God stars Golden Globe winner Ron Perlman in his first lead television role since “Sons of Anarchy” as Judge Pernell Harris. “Hand of God” also stars Dana Delany as the Judge’s protective wife Crystal Harris, Garret Dillahunt as KD, the born-again sociopath, whose violent tendencies are exploited by Pernell, Andre Royo as the slick, smart, gregarious, and greedy mayor Robert ‘Bobo’ Boston, Alona Tal as Pernells grieving daughter-in-law Jocelyn Harris, Julian Morris as the questionable preacher Paul Dobson, Elizabeth McLaughlin as the preacher’s sultry girlfriend Alicia, and Emayatzy Corinealdi as Pernell’s call girl / confidante Tessie. The show centers on the powerful Judge Harris, a hard-living, law-bending married man with a high-end call girl on the side, who suffers a mental breakdown, and goes on a vigilante quest to find the rapist who tore his family apart. With no real evidence to go on, Pernell begins to rely on “visions” and “messages” he believes are being sent by God through Pernell’s ventilator-bound son. Forster, Watkins, Perlman, Wilkins and King serve as Executive Producers, and Jillian Kugler as co-Executive Producer. “Hand of God” begins shooting this week in the Los Angeles and Long Beach areas.